With tick season under way, the University of Guelph has experts who can discuss what outdoors lovers and pet owners need to know about tick disease prevention.
Melanie Wills is the director of the G. Magnotta Lyme Disease Research Lab, which aims to improve Lyme disease diagnostic testing and treatment. A cellular pathology researcher, she can discuss the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease as well as the illness it causes.
She recently offered her expertise to CTV Kitchener for an article about what people need to know about ticks and Lyme.
Prof. Scott Weese, a veterinary internal medicine specialist with the Ontario Veterinary College, is available to discuss the latest evidence-based information on ticks.
In 2016, Weese launched the Pet Tick Tracker, an online tool that gathers information from Ontario pet owners and vets who have found ticks on pets. U of G researchers use the data to monitor changes in tick populations, be alerted to new tick species in Ontario and predict the insects’ movement.
Dr. Katie Clow is a veterinarian who has studied the ecology and epidemiology of the black-legged tick and the risk of Lyme disease in Ontario. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the Weese laboratory.
Weese and Clow manage Pets and Ticks, a comprehensive website that brings the Pet Tick Tracker together with up-to-date, evidence-based information on ticks in Canada.
Contact:
Melanie Wills
mwills@uoguelph.ca
Prof. Scott Weese
jsweese@ovc.uoguelph.ca
Dr. Katie Clow
kclow@uoguelph.ca